This armor was discovered/developed by Arch-Mages as a means to counteract the problems encountered when a Mage or Arch-Mage wears heavy armor, their magic power is reduced. Arch-Mages looked around for several hundred years before stumbling upon a planet rich in magic energy (and I do mean stumbling, an Arch-Mage managed to anger a demi-god, so the demi-god, instead of killing the offending Arch-Mage decided to dimensionally teleport the Arch-Mage to that planet as a punishment, thinking that all of the P.P.E. ™ sucking inhabitants would do away with him... but that is another story). On this planet, they found a species of plant that was seemingly tailor made for the use of any Mage, they could mentally command the suit to "engage" and "disengage" at will, when the "engage" command is given the armor will automatically cover the Arch-Mage more thoroughly and completely than the most expensive suit of environmental body armor. When the "disengage" command is given the armor will uncover the Arch-Mage and wrap itself around his/her waist (kind of like a belt, but without need for belt loops), the armor is not visible to anyone (except when in use of course), due to the fact that when the Arch-Mage receives it he allows it to become part of him, literally, in a form of symbiotic union. The only problem was that the plant consumed a large percentage of the wearer's P.P.E. ™ which was the problem that they originally wanted to avoid. But since the plant offered such astounding protection, the Arch-Mages decided to see if they could reduce the P.P.E. ™ consumption of the plant. The suit described below is the result of over 400 years of intensive research, by Arch-Mages, therefore it only stands to reason that all Arch-Mages start with a suit of it.
Note: As stated previously, this armor is issued to all Arch-Mages upon their completion of initial training. After which point they undergo rigorous training in the use and care of their Symbiotic Armor. If an Arch-Mage ever intentionally destroys their armor (ignoring the fact that they could destroy themselves in the attempt) or sells it to another group or individual (by finding some non-lethal way of removing it), and the Arcanum ever gets wind of this, the Arch-Mage will be hunted down, brought back to the Arcanum, tried by a council of 19, and if found guilty, they will be stripped of their status as an Arch-Mage and banned from ever entering Arcanum territory, under pain of Power Stripping (a process by which all members of the council strip all of the P.P.E.™ from the offender, permanently ).
Class: A-200 Symbiotic
Body Armor
Size: Depends on wearer.
Weight: Adds 5% to wearer's weight (a 200 pound wearer would now weigh
210 pounds, with the armor).
Mobility: +20% to prowl (yes, that's a plus sign :), in addition to
other bonuses listed below.
M.D.C. By Location:
Head: Wearer's Hit Points and S.D.C. X .6 (each)
Arms: Wearer's Hit Points and S.D.C. X .8 (each)
Legs: Wearer's Hit Points and S.D.C. (each)
Main Body: Wearer's Hit Points and S.D.C. X 2
Special Features:
Wearer can cast the following spells at will:
Tongues
Eyes of Thoth
Shadow Meld
Chameleon
Invisibility: Lesser
Fly as an eagle
Wearer can cast the following spells
up to 10 times per day:
Time Slip
Impervious to Energy
Impervious to Fire and Heat (just consider it a combination of the two separate
spells).
Impervious to Cold
D-Phase
Invisibility: Superior
And four others that can be selected by the Arch-Mage when he receives the Armor.
These selections can be changed only by the creator of the Armor, and only with
very good reason for the change.
Special Bonuses:
Market Price: Available only to Arch-Mages or specially-trained Mages of other disciplines, except under "special dispensation" of the Arcanum, and even then this suit can only be worn and used by Mages. Psionics have no understanding of this armor, and therefore, can't use it.